Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare Background Born 1564 Educated at Stratford Grammar School Parents John, a glove maker, and Mary (Arden) Married Ann Hathaway when he was 18 and she 26 Three children: Susanna, Judith and Hamnet

Shakespeare Background Continued… Moved to London to be come an actor and playwright During plague outbreaks, he wrote poetry. In 1599 he built and became a partner in the Globe Theater. He wrote 37 plays and 154 Sonnets Member of the Lord Chamberlin’s men which became the King’s men when Elizabeth the first died, and James the I took the throne. Shakespeare died April 23, 1616 at the age of 52

Shakespeare’s Coat of Arms The motto reads “Not without Reason”

Shakespeare’s Family Tree

Basis for the play… Shakespeare's primary source for Romeo and Juliet was Arthur Brooke's Romeus and Juliet, first published in The story was retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter. Shakespeare’s version is believed to have been written between Palace of Pleasure William Painter

An 1870 oil painting by Ford Madox Brown depicting Romeo and Juliet's famous balcony sceneFord Madox Brown

Basic overview… In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a long feud between the Montague and Capulet families disrupts the city of Verona and causes tragic results for Romeo and Juliet. Revenge, love, and a secret marriage force the young star-crossed lovers to grow up quickly — and fate causes them to commit suicide in despair. Contrast and conflict are running themes throughout Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet — one of the Bard's most popular romantic tragedies.

Key Facts full title · The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet author · William Shakespeare type of work · Play genre · Tragic drama language · English time and place written · London, mid-1590s date of first publication · 1597 (in the First Quarto, which was likely an unauthorized incomplete edition); 1599 (in the Second Quarto, which was authorized)

Key Facts continued… protagonists · Romeo; Juliet antagonists · The feuding Montagues and Capulets; Tybalt; the Prince and citizens of Verona; fate settings (time) · Renaissance (fourteenth or fifteenth century) settings (place) · Verona and Mantua (cities in northern Italy) point of view · Insofar as a play has a point of view, that of Romeo and Juliet; occasionally the play uses the point of view of the Montague and Capulet servants to illuminate the actions of their masters.

Key Facts continued… tones · Passionate, romantic, intense, rhapsodic, violent, prone to extremes of emotion (ecstasy, rage, misery, etc.) themes · The forcefulness of love; love as a cause of violence; the individual versus society; the inevitability of fate motifs · Light/dark imagery; opposite points of view

Thumb-biting In Act 1, scene 1, the buffoonish Samson begins a brawl between the Montagues and Capulets by flicking his thumbnail from behind his upper teeth, an insulting gesture known as biting the thumb. He engages in this juvenile and vulgar display because he wants to get into a fight with the Montagues but doesn’t want to be accused of starting the fight by making an explicit insult. Because of his timidity, he settles for being annoying rather than challenging. The thumb-biting, as an essentially meaningless gesture, represents the foolishness of the entire Capulet/Montague feud and the stupidity of violence in general.

The House of Capulet Capulet is the patriarch of the house of Capulet.Capulet Lady Capulet is the matriarch of the house of Capulet.Lady Capulet Juliet is the daughter of the Capulets, and is the play's female protagonist.Juliet Tybalt is a cousin of Juliet, and the nephew of Lady Capulet.Tybalt The Nurse is Juliet's personal attendant and confidante.The Nurse Peter, Sampson and Gregory are servants of the Capulet household. Rosaline, a niece to Lord Capulet, is an unseen character with whom Romeo is in love before meeting Juliet.Rosalineunseen character

The House of Montague Montague is the patriarch of the house of Montague.Montague Lady Montague is the matriarch of the house of Montague.Lady Montague Romeo is the son of the Montagues, and is the play's male protagonist.Romeo Benvolio is a cousin, and friend, of Romeo.Benvolio Mercutio is another kinsman of Escalus, and a friend of Romeo.Mercutio Abram and Balthasar are servants of the Montague household.

Other Characters Ruling house of Verona Prince Escalus is the ruling Prince of VeronaPrince EscalusVerona Count Paris is a kinsman of Escalus who wishes to marry Juliet.Count Paris Others Friar Lawrence is a Franciscan friar, and is Romeo's confidant.Friar LawrenceFranciscan A Chorus reads a prologue to each of the first two acts.prologue Friar John is sent to deliver Friar Laurence's letter to Romeo. An Apothecary reluctantly sells Romeo poison.